Family Life

Here at Christ Church we are passionate about doing marriage and family well. We have a number of different courses on throughout the year to equip and prepare you for every aspect of married life and family life:

UPCOMING EVENTS

Marriage Courses at Christ Church

How can we be happily married to the same person for a lifetime? How do engaged couples put down good foundations for marriage?

Strong, loving and lifelong relationships don't happen by chance. It takes effort and dedication to keep the fun and romance alive and we can all learn how to make even the happiest marriage better. If you're like most people you prepare and plan for many things in life: education, career, retirement and holidays. Most couples spend up to 250 hours planning their wedding, but very little time, if any, planning for their married life.

There are many things you can do to build lifelong, happy marriages and investing in your relationship either before or at any stage during your marriage will reap rewards for many years to come. This is why we offer these two courses; the Marriage Preparation Course and the Marriage Course, so that whatever stage you and or partner are at you can invest and prepare for many more years together.

Marriage Preparation Course

Getting married? Congratulations!

Planning a wedding is an exciting time, all about celebrating your love and commitment. It can also take a lot of skill and effort and marriage is just the same! Most people take time to plan and prepare for lots of things in life, why get married without doing the same?

Why do the course?

Every marriage has its ups and downs, but we believe that skills and habits can be formed that will help you build strong foundations for a fulfilling life together. So why not take the opportunity to have some time out to think and talk about these things and plan for your future together. Marriage preparation at Christ Church is for any couple getting married, whether you come along to church or not. Based on Christian principles, the courses are designed to be helpful and relevant for all couples. Marriage preparation is very relaxed; there is input from facilitators, with DVD clips and interviews and time for you as a couple to talk. There is no group work.

Couple's survey

As part of the course you will have the opportunity to complete the couple's survey online before the day. This is not a test but is a useful springboard for discussion. You will then be invited to meet with a support couple (a trained volunteer married couple) for an evening after the course to discuss the survey and any discussion points arising from it.

The Marriage Course

The Marriage Course is very practical, giving any couple the tools to build a strong and healthy relationship that lasts a lifetime. Over seven evenings spent together, couples talk about important issues that can get swept under the carpet in the rush of daily life.

Who is the course for?

The course is suitable for those who are married or have been living together for 2 years or 60 years or anything in between. Whether you have a good relationship that you want to make even better or whether you are struggling and going through a difficult time - the course is designed with you in mind. The course, while based on Christian principles, is very helpful and practical for any couple with or without a Christian faith or church background.

What is covered on the course?

Each evening includes a meal and input from the course leaders. Couples spend the rest of the time in private discussion of the issues raised. There is no group work. The seven sessions are:

Building strong foundations

The art of communication

Resolving conflict

The power of forgiveness

Parents and in-laws

Good sex

Love in action

Cost and Booking
The course costs £90 a couple which includes all food, refreshments and resources.

Our marriage courses usually start in January each year, please contact the office for further details.

Parenting Courses at Christ Church

Being a parent can be rewarding, fun, challenging and frustrating all at the same time. It is also one of the most important jobs we will ever do. The Parenting Courses we offer aim to acknowledge the rewards but also offer help with the challenges of different stages of parenting.

Parentalk

Being a parent of young children is one of life's greatest joys, but it is also one of its biggest challenges. There's hardly a mum or dad on the face of the earth who, at times, is not overawed by the task of parenting. That's why Care for the Family have created Parentalk, a great new parenting course for parents and guardians of children aged 2-12 years.

What's Involved?

In six sessions, Parentalk looks at the topics that affect just about every family. As you go through each session you will have the chance to talk to other parents about the day-to-day challenges that you face, as well as share the things that are going well. The course covers the following themes:

It's not just me

Love them and let them know

It's good to talk

Boundaries and battles

Parenting with elastic

Creating a sense of belonging

The course is DVD-based, and is presented by Rob Parsons and Katharine Hill with contributions from author Sarah Abell, Diane Louise Jordan, Mark Chester from Who Let the Dad’s Out?, and Pediatrician Dr. Kunle Ayonrinde. There will also be time given to share experiences with other parents.

Parenting Teenagers Course

The Parenting Teenagers Course is for any parents, step-parents, or carers of children aged 11 – 18 years.

We are the main influence on our teenagers’ future. Discovering we are not alone in the challenges we face and picking up ideas from other parents can make a huge difference. Meeting our teenagers’ deepest needs, setting healthy boundaries, helping to develop their emotional health and teaching them how to make good choices takes skill and dedication. Taking time to reflect on our end goal can help us to build our relationship with our teenagers now.

The course runs over 5 weekly evening sessions with a key element being that participants learn from each other and share together their experiences.

Understanding Your Teenager

We regularly run evening courses, we currently have no dates scheduled but please contact the office for more details. office@ccweb.org.uk

Find Out More

For more information about any of these courses or to find out the dates of the next course please contact us or see the church calendar.